A Journey Out of Time (2 page)

He reached down & felt the material at the hem of her pant leg. There were butterflies in her stomach! Ugh, where did those come from?

"Interesting." Sonya smiled. "My name is Duncan." He turned, moving his hand to present the castle. "This is my home, Ronin & ye are welcome here."

"Thank you. My name is Sonya."

"Sonya."

"Yes," she smiled. She liked how he pronounced her name & suddenly felt her cheeks grow hot. She wasn't sure why & she suddenly looked down. Where were these weird feelings coming from? Sonya heard a child laugh & her head jerked toward the sound. It suddenly dawned on her that she may never see her own family again & her throat seemed to close & her chest tightened. It felt overwhelming & she slowly slid down the wall. Duncan crouched down & watched her for a moment.

"What am I going to do?" Her voice was barely a whisper as she looked up at the man. His eyes seemed to shimmer. They were beautiful & she could see compassion in them. She searched them, as if the answer to her question may lay there. Duncan stretched out a hand.

"Ye must get off the ground, lass. Ye'll be getting wet."

Sonya nodded & then it did it again! As he took her hand & pulled her up, the shock traveled right up to her shoulder! She frowned briefly. "Thank you…again." She shook her hand, flexing her fingers as they started walking back up the hill. Sonya looked at his long, dark, wavy hair, which flowed down his back. He really was a
very
handsome man & she looked away as she felt her butterflies return. A woman's voice called out from the door.

"I must gew. Will ye be alright lass?" Sonya nodded & he headed towards the castle. She watched him as he went, his kilt bobbing up & down as he jogged up the hill. She watched his muscular, brown calves. The muscles seemed to go all the way up to his….well… they were
really
muscular legs! Heat seared through her chest & she suddenly felt her cheeks grow warm. Realizing she had stopped walking, she rubbed her temples before resuming the trek up the hill. As Duncan reached the door he glanced back, smiled & raised his hand. Sonya waved & smiled; that warm feeling again. She wished that would stop! It was so distracting. But then again he was very distracting anyway!

*

It happened again, that surge right up his arm! What
was
it about the lass? This Sonya.
Why do I feel so compelled to take care of her? Why do I feel like I have to protect her?
He didn't even know her, & yet…there was this feeling inside that he couldn't understand. He saw pain in her eyes as she had slid to the ground & it shot pain through his chest. He did not want her to hurt.

*

What on earth was she going to do now?
Sonya told her cousin, Kim & her Aunt Rosie about her trip, but she hadn't given them specific details. Would they know where she was? How could they, she didn't even know
when
she was! And quite frankly, Sonya didn't want to ask. What would she do in the here & now? Until she could figure that out, this was home for a while. She looked up as the woman she spoke to when she was first in the dining hall said something in Gaelic to a young woman, who then came up to Sonya.

"Miss?"

"Yes?"

"Miss, I have a room ready for ye. I will shew it to ye."

Sonya followed the young woman out the hall & to the left, up a set stairs. At the top she looked over the beautiful, wood banister. You could see all the way to the huge, wooden, double doors they entered at the end of the corridor. The young woman went left down a corridor that was only about 5 feet long & entered a door on the right.

"Here we are Miss. I laid out some clothes for ye & drew a bath as I thought ye may wish to wash & rest before dinner.

"This is wonderful. Thank you," Sonya smiled. "What is your name?"

"Sarah, miss."

"Thank you Sarah. My name is Sonya." As she picked up a white shift she asked, "What do you call this?"

Sarah frowned briefly & said, "It can be called a kirtle, Miss."

Sonya smiled & nodded, picking up another piece of clothing. "An overdress?"

"Yes, miss. It goes on over the kirtle."

"Well, thank you Sarah." The young woman nodded once & left the room.

Sonya walked across the room to the bed, running her hand over the soft burgundy material. She sat down & happily unlaced her boots, stretching & wiggling her toes. Ahhh. After stripping off her clothing, she slipped her already sore body slowly down into the warm bath. She let out a sigh. The soreness she would feel tomorrow would be 20 times worse, but this felt wonderful! She took a deep breath & plunged under the water. Coming up she took a bar of soap that was almost clear, scrubbing her hair & body. When she was satisfied the soot & smell was removed she sat there for a while in the silence. There was an open window above her & she inhaled the lovely breeze that wafted in. The glass was beautiful with yellows, oranges, blues & greens. She wanted to closer her eyes, but decided she better get out of the little wooden tub before she got stuck in it.

Time to dress like the natives. Dresses weren't something Sonya wore often. She picked up the pieces. Hmm, no bra. Well, she wasn't wearing the one she just took off. That would have to be washed out. First went on what Sarah called the kirtle, which was white with sleeves that went three fourth the way down her arms. It was light & reached to her ankles. Then there was an outer layer which went over the kirtle. It was a lovely rust color. The bottom, front of it opened in an upside down V, showing the white of the kirtle. She tied the bodice laces. Although it was nice to feel free from tight things, it made one feel a bit bare without a bra. It also made her feel a bit busty, since she wasn't very big there. It was funny what the dresses did to the bosom, yet covered everything else. Last came a pair of shoes. They were quite cute; brown, kind of like a sandal on top, but strings that ran through them & tied several times around the ankle.

Opening the door to the hallway, she didn't see anyone around. Instead of going down the stairs she followed the banister to the next corridor & met up with the young mother & her young son.

"Hello." Sonya said, looking at the little boy who was attached to his mother's hand. His light brown hair was curly & he was pale with a shy smile of pink lips & light auburn eyes. "How are you doing?"

"I…I am so confused," she shook her head a few times & fidgeted with her dress. "Why did we crash? Will the airport send someone to get us?"

Sonya raised her eyebrows. This should be fun. "I…don't think…that will happen," she replied.

"Why not? Surely they heard the calls from the pilots." She seemed almost angry, but she closed her green eyes for a moment, took a deep breath & opened them again.

"They might have heard something, but I am afraid something unusual happened," Sonya said spreading her hands.

"Unusual?"

What on earth should she say?
I think we went back in time & landed in Scotland?
"Well, it will take time before it can be sorted out. How is the man with the leg injuries?" Sonya hoped a change of subject would help distract her. She glanced over her shoulder as if she could see the man in the bed.

"He hasn't woken up yet. They put him in a room connected to mine. I am trying to help look after him."

"Do you know him?"

"No, but I thought it would keep me busy & from freaking out over all of this!" Her little boy was getting restless. He had his mother's hand & was pulling it back & forth.

Sonya smiled. "I quite understand. Well…?"

"Cami. Cami & John."

"Well, Cami & John I will see you both later."

As Cami entered the room, Sonya turned back toward the stairs. Maybe Cami did understand what had happened. Sometimes if you don't talk about it you think maybe it didn't really happen. At least that is what people tend to tell themselves. As for Sonya, she was always a dreamer. She didn't dismiss the possibility of things unusual happening. She smiled as she heard her mother's voice in her head, "Just remember, Sonya, always remember to keep one toe on the ground." She may not understand how, but she was pretty sure it had happened.

Sonya kept thinking about movies she grew up watching like
Back to the Future
. Continuing down the stairs, she wondered if you could really alter the future if you interfered in the past. Or was this something like worm holes or alternate universes? Who didn't love Star Trek? Or was she just out like a light somewhere & this was all in her head? If she was, she was glad she was in Scotland! After all, she had waited years to get here. At least she made it one way or another.

At the bottom of the stairs Sonya heard noises that seemed to be coming from behind the stairs. Peering around behind them she saw that there was a corridor that led underneath, to the left. Following it she looked into a doorway where it seemed they were preparing for dinner. Bustling too & fro, chopping & chatting. Just think how long it would take. No microwave, no electricity, no gas. Wow! No running water! Ugh. After all Sonya
had
found the toilet, but she just tried not to think about it.

Walking back out past the stairs into the hall, she looked around. It seemed even larger now with no people bustling around. Sonya wondered what the other people would do. Would they stay here & make a new life or try to make their way back to wherever they were from, providing her guess was right? What would Kerry's family do? They had come from America, but Kerry was from England. She met her husband, Chris while he was in the Air Force. What did
they
think had happened? Even though she wasn't sure of the year, she was sure she had never heard of a King named
McPherson
. McPherson was her grandmother's name & she was pretty sure that she would have discovered if there had been a king of Scotland in her family line!

Again Sonya went over to the tapestry that she had looked at earlier. It was deep burgundy & had gold threads running through it. How did they do that? It was beautiful & soft as well. She looked at the wooden tables & benches. They too, were beautiful. The dais had a long table where the Laird would sit. Duncan would be the laird. Was he a duke or earl? What did they have? She never was very good at remembering that stuff. Of course living it, would be a big difference from reading it in a book!

Sonya wandered to the window. It was late afternoon. Looking past the field, the sky was blue & it was beautiful & green. The clouds had moved on. Beauty seemed to be all around her. She sighed. Walking back out she glanced down at the big doors. There were two guards there. If they noticed her, which she was sure they had, they didn't seem concerned. Suddenly she felt very tired & climbed back up the stairs to her room. She gazed out the window again. There was beautiful green for a very long way. Making her way over to the bed, she sat down. It seemed very comfortable. She wondered what the people here made of all of this. What did they think of the plane, the explosion, & the people? What did Duncan make of it? Hmm. She couldn't help it, but she smiled at the thought of Duncan. Sonya stretched out & slept.

*

When Sonya awoke she was covered up & a candle was lit by the bedside. Did Sarah do that? She certainly hadn't heard anyone come in. Laying there she looked up at the ceiling at the dark, thick, wood beams running along it. They were beautiful. She glanced over at the candle, watching the yellowish wax slipping silently down the side. The flame barely flickered. What time would it be here? She looked at her watch. It was amazing that it hadn't been broken. Throwing the blanket back, she swung her legs over the side. She couldn't even touch the floor & it made her feel like a little girl. She smiled & hopped down. She glanced at the window, it was dark outside now & she was starving. Time to head down the stairs to the hall.

There were people bustling between the kitchen & the hall. Sonya peered around the corner. Sitting at the dais at the end of the room was Duncan, a little boy & a very pretty lady sitting there. Duncan's wife? She was tall & thin with light, blonde hair that flowed straight down her back. The sides were braided & tied in the back. Sonya smiled as the little boy between them said something & they laughed. She looked back at Duncan & felt like all the air went out of her lungs. When he smiled he looked even more gorgeous, if that was possible. And if that was his wife? She definitely needed to get rid of this weird feeling that was in her stomach. That was just not appropriate. Besides, weren't butterflies supposed to be
outside
? And yet as she watched him smile & laugh her chest tightened & she had the desire to want to be the one to make him laugh & smile. She didn't want to look away.